Merry Christmas Darling
by EvPens814
Summary: Nothing brings two souls together quite like cheesy Christmas music. Puzzleshipping. Set between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City.


Note: I set this story in Japan, but kept the American suffixes and didn't do any Japanese translations (i.e. partner instead of "aibou", etc). I hope that's okay! This was originally written for Tumblr's Secret Santa giveaway. I didn't plan on publishing it here, but here we are :)

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of the random songs or pop culture references I make. Enjoy!

* * *

Merry Christmas Darling

"Shit!" Yugi swore as he dropped a large amount of flour on the pristine kitchen floor.

"Language, Yugi-chan," Mama reprimanded as she effortlessly rolled out the dough for the homemade sugar cookies on the kitchen island. "Maybe if you took that pendant off of your neck, you wouldn't be so clumsy with the flour, hm?"

Yugi gave his mother a scandalized look. "Whaaa-no! Mama! Oth-I mean, I'll be more careful…"

His mother gave him a suspicious look, before turning back to rolling out the dough. "Well, do be careful. Your father is coming home in two days and he wants us to celebrate Christmas."

Yugi bit his lip, as he carefully sat down the flour and grabbed a measuring cup. His father...right…

" _Partner?"_ Came the sleepy voice of the Other Yugi. " _Is everything alright?"_

" _Huh? Oh, it's fine, Other Me…"_

" _It doesn't seem fine, Yugi."_

Yugi flinched. His Other Self rarely used his given name. " _I mean, my dad's coming home and he's not the easiest to get along with. And now, we have to make the shop perfect for Christmas, or Mama is going to blow a gasket, which will probably be the most traumatizing thing you will ever see…"_

" _Christmas?"_ the Spirit sounded confused.

"I'll explain later," Yugi replied, then realized that he said that out loud, causing his mother to look over at him.

"Are you talking to yourself again, Yugi?"

"Uhm, no? I mean...uhh...I read a study that all intelligent people talk to themselves now and again, Mama." He gave her a sheepish smile. "Maybe I am smarter than everyone thinks?"

Mrs. Mutou frowned. "Well, hopefully your grades show it or your father is going to be disappointed."

Yugi lowered his head and staring at the fluffy white flour, wishing it was snow.

Shit, indeed.

* * *

"Settle down, settle down," Ms. Asa said irately. "I've got your report cards and I'm sad, but not surprised to say, that some of you have failed. "So this is my lesson for you, class: Buckle down after Winter Break. I expect _much_ better marks from all of you after the New Year."

As if she was intent on torturing them, Ms. Asa walked slowly down each row, her black heels clicking in a precise manner, as she slowly started handing out report cards, occasionally making comments to certain students-namely, Jounouchi.

"Jounouchi, I really hope that your dream as a…" she paused for a moment, distaste heavy in her voice, " _professional duelist_ works out well for you, as I do not see you working in aerodynamics or in anything related to academia."

"Ahh, it's alright, Ms. Asa...I'm the best in other areas," Jonouchi said nonchalantly, winking at Honda, who made guffawed. Two rows over, Yugi heard Kaiba snort in disbelief, even as he was reading a large novel, that appeared to be written in Russian, clearly ignoring the trivial concept of high school report cards.

"Mutou." Yugi's blood froze as Ms. Asa stopped at his desk. Yugi could feel the Spirit turning over in his Puzzle as if he were posing for combat. "Well done. I'm glad to see that you have buckled down." She gave him a rare smile, which made her look her actual age of twenty-seven. "Have a Happy Break, Mutou."

Turning to Seto Kaiba, she handed him his report, with an exasperated sigh. "Why do I even bother to grade your papers, Mr. Kaiba?"

"And why do I even bother showing up to this place, Ms. Asa?" he said coolly, sliding his report card back to her.

She frowned at Kaiba's rudeness, but at the same time, she had an amused look on her face, realizing that he was a lost cause. "Have a Happy Holiday, Mr. Kaiba."

"Like I get the holiday's off," Kaiba muttered.

" _Partner, he is such a...ahhh...what's the word? Scrooge?"_

Yugi nodded, but couldn't suppress a grin. " _He is, Other Me. Maybe we should watch this American Christmas cartoon tonight. It's about a, er, Scrooge, who tries to steal Christmas from a town."_

Yugi could feel the Spirit nod in agreement. " _That sounds lovely. Now, let's see what warranted your instructor's praises,"_ he said warmly, causing Yugi to develop a blush on his cheeks.

" _Uhh, okay,"_ with a careful look to make sure that no one was watching him too closely, Yugi opened his report card with shaking hands. He couldn't believe his eyes. " _OTHER ME! I got all A's except one B+ in English Language! Dad's gonna be so proud!"_

"I'm _very proud of you, Partner. I knew that you could do it."_ He smiled warmly at his partner. " _Now about that Kaiba movie…"_

Yugi laughed, a pink hue spreading across his cheeks. " _Ahh, yess, the Kaiba movie."_ He stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. " _You know, I bet one day, there's going to be a card named after Kaiba…"_

" _And I'm sure that it will be ever ostentatious,"_ the Spirit remarked darkly, causing Yugi to erupt into a fit of giggles. He abruptly stopped when people started to stare.

* * *

Yugi had no sooner entered the game shop apartment's door, when his mother met him, a harried look on her face. "Yuu-chan, your Father's flight arrives at eight o'clock tomorrow night, which means that we have to have things ready!"

"Mama, I got my report-"

Mrs. Mutou cut him off. "Which means, darling, I need you to vacuum and move the furniture around, polish furniture, and for the love of everything, make sure you're not wearing that pendant. You know how your father is."

"Mama-" Yugi cut in. "I can do all of that, but I'm not taking off my Puzzle."

His mother was clearly at her wit's end with the stress of his father coming home. "Fine!" she uncharacteristically snapped. "But don't complain when he starts to tell you to man up!"

Suddenly, Yugi felt angry. First, his mother dismissed his report card and now he was being forced to change everything for a father that wasn't even in his life that much to begin with?

To hell with that.

"I'll clean the house," Yugi said quietly. "I'll even organize the shop since I know Dad likes organization. But I _refuse_ to take off my Puzzle in order to appear more _manly_ for a man I barely see."

His mother looked shocked, but then a cold look settled across her face. "You know what, Yugi...I can do the cleaning myself. I really don't want to see you tonight. Just…go to your room. Focus on your studies. I know that your report card probably wasn't the best...as usual."

Yugi bit his lip, refusing to let his angry tears show. "For your information, Mama, I received almost all A's and a B+ in English."

His mother paused for a second, looking conflicted between feeling contrite and lashing out. Finally, she said: "Well, your father will want you to improve your English…"

Yugi ran up the stairs. "Of course he would!" he spat. "Nothing is good enough for him, is it?"

* * *

Yugi lay face down on his pillow, tears of anger, frustration, and sadness completely making it and his face a sopping mess. The Puzzle lay beside his right arm. He would normally curl up with it, but tonight, he wished he could curl up with his Other Self and cry. But no, he couldn't...because his Other Self was a Spirit…

" _You have every right to be upset, Yugi,"_ came the deep voice of his Other Self.

Yugi rolled over in surprise, as he saw the Spirit sitting beside him, watching him with a sad look on his face. " _I'm so sorry, Partner. Your family should not treat you so."_ He bowed his head, a morose look on his face. " _And it's all because of me."_

Yugi shot up. "No it's not!" he said vehemently. "NEVER blame yourself, Other Me! They need to change! They need to accept me for who _I_ am! You're around more than any of them are! Well...you tie with Grandpa," he added in an afterthought.

The Spirit gave him a wry smile. Then suddenly looking hesitant, he reached out and brushed his fingers through Yugi's unruly hair. " _I'm so proud of you, my Brave One."_

Yugi felt his cheeks turn a deep red at both the touch and the affectionate name. "Y-You can-touch me?"

The Spirit looked mildly surprised. "You didn't know?"

Yugi shook his head. "I didn't! I-I thought-" then without thinking, he launched himself at his Other Self, his head on the Spirit's shoulders, grasping onto him for dear life. "How did I not know this, Other Me?"

" _It never really came up, Partner. And I was afraid of perhaps crossing a boundary were I to initiate anything…"_

Yugi looked up into Yami's violet eyes, a shade darker than his. "Never feel that way, Spirit. You can touch me anytime." As soon as he said that, Yugi ducked his head and embarrassment. "Oh my god, I-I meant-"

The Spirit laughed. " _I know what you meant, Partner. And I'm honored._ " He ruffled Yugi's hair again and leaned back on the bed. " _Now can we watch that Kaiba movie? What is it called?"_

Yugi's expression brightened. "Oh! It's called _How the Grinch Stole Christmas."_

The Spirit chuckled. _"I will have to remember to use that name on him the next time we duel him…"_

Yugi giggled, as he flipped on his T.V. and opened up the Netflix app. "He would probably take it as a compliment, Other Me."

" _Well, let me be the deciding factor in that, My Little Grinch,"_ the Spirit said playfully. Leaning back, he stretched his arms out, looking comfortable. Yugi stared at him hesitantly for a second, before the Spirit gave him a playful wink. "Well, are you going to relax or what, Partner?"

Yugi grinned and lay his head down in the crook of Yami's arm. "I'm glad that we can do this…"

Yami gently brushed back Yugi's bangs again. " _Never let anyone tell you that you are less than what you are, Yugi. For to me…"_ He paused for a second and kissed Yugi's forehead and then his lips chastely. " _You are priceless."_

Yugi wrapped his arms around Yami tighter. "What if I wake up tomorrow and this is all just a dream? That I can't touch you?"

The Spirit just smiled. " _Yugi, it's six o'clock in the evening. I doubt you're dreaming. Now, let's-"_ he kissed Yugi's cheeks repeatedly. " _Watch this movie about Kaiba, My Little Grinch."_

Yugi smiled, feeling as if he was floating on Cloud Nine. "May I kiss you, Other Me?"

"You're asking me after I've kissed you a dozen times within the past ten minutes?

Yugi blushed. "I-I just-"

"Kiss me, Partner."

Yugi smiled sweetly and leaned forward, his right arm leaning partially over Yami, as their lips connected once again, this time, Yugi playfully sucked on Yami's lower lip, all the while keeping his eyes connected to Yami's. After a few minutes, they broke apart, both flushed and slightly sweaty.

Once again, the Spirit gently brushed Yugi's wayward bangs out of his eyes. "Merry Christmas, Darling. I'm glad that we're not apart somehow."

Yugi turned red and blinked several times. "Wait...it's not Christmas yet and...are you quoting a _Christmas song_ to me? I thought that you didn't know what Christmas was!"

The Spirit gave him a mischievous look, before rubbing his nose gently with Yugi. "I do pay attention, Yugi...I just like to hear you explain things to me. I will never get tired of your voice…" he smiled. "My Little Grinch."

Yugi laughed. "You know, you can't call both Kaiba and me that. He'll get confused."

"Then shall we watch the movie, so that I can find some more insults to throw his way next time we do."

Yugi grinned. "You bet we can!"

* * *

-Well, that's that! I'll get to work on Gods and Monsters. :) Read and Review if you want. Do you guys want a sequel (or just a second chapter) where Yami tries to throw Grinch insults at Kaiba?


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